American Century Companies Inc. Trims Holdings in Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

American Century Companies Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,881,046 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 196,313 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 2.74% of Ameris Bancorp worth $137,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ABCB. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Ameris Bancorp by 2,311.8% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 410 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1,567.6% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 567 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 51.5% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 547 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its position in Ameris Bancorp by 395.4% in the 3rd quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 748 shares of the bank’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ABCB opened at $77.55 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Ameris Bancorp has a 52 week low of $48.27 and a 52 week high of $87.98. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $80.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.09. The firm has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.89 and a beta of 0.99.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The bank reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.03. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 21.46%.The firm had revenue of $309.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $310.48 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ABCB. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. DA Davidson set a $94.00 target price on Ameris Bancorp in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.50.

Ameris Bancorp Company Profile

Ameris Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its principal subsidiary, Ameris Bank, the company offers a broad range of commercial and retail banking services to individuals, small businesses, middle market companies and agricultural customers. Its core business lines encompass deposit services, lending solutions, treasury management, mortgage origination and servicing, insurance products and wealth management.

Ameris Bancorp operates a network of branches and loan production offices across the southeastern United States, including Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.